Update from Inuvik, NWT

Hi all, I am currently in Inuvik, NWT.  I left Ontario on the 15th and then left BC on the 22nd.  Nothing much was done while in BC - mostly just relaxing and enjoying family time with my parents.  My trip up north started on the 23rd from Edmonton to Inuvik, via Yellowknife and Norman Wells.  Here in Inuvik, we were suppose to fly out to Ivvavik National Park on the morning of 26th.  However, once we were in the air and near Sheep Creek, we found that it was covered by thick clouds and snow, and so we had to turn back to Inuvik.  We tried again on the 27th, but due to pilot unavailability (in the morning) and poor weather again (in the afternoon), we were grounded for one more day.

Today is the 28th and I really really hope that we can take off today and get my field season started.

Here are some photos that I took for the past few days.  No time for description for the photos, but they are pretty self explanatory.

Biking to look for housing

I am quite stressed nowadays about me not having a place to stay when I return from the field in August.  I looked at two places today - one was cheaper but shared with four other graduate students; the other one was a bit pricier but only shared with two other people.  Neither are really suitable.  Plus I don't have much time left after today since I have two full days of first aid training starting tomorrow. 

Not sure what I will do...

On the way to the pricier one.  Biking past this everyday might be a pleasant bonus.

 
Saw many Red-winged Blackbirds and grackles.  But the best sighting was this Eastern Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes).
 

Insects on dandelions & New birds of the season

I biked to school today to print off some documents.  Afterwards I went behind the office building to do some photography. 

Found two of these Ragweed Leaf Beetles (Zygogramma suturalis) scurrying away from me or playing dead.

Blossoms outside Trent

Here are some photos taken this evening while waiting for the bus.  After this weekend, I have two days of wilderness first aid training.  After that, I am heading back to BC for a week.

May days so far

May days so far have been pretty hectic (as expected).  I need to finalize what I will be doing this summer with my supervisors, pack everything, and figure out where I am going to be living next September.

2012-05-04

I handed in my post-dated cheques to the housing unit today at school.  After that, I walked along the river towards my building.  And as expected, when I don't bring my DSLR, I ended up seeing some pretty cool wildlife.

For example, this Osprey about 20 metres away from me looking at the river.

Then I heard this knocking sound.  Looking around, it was a Pileated Woodpecker.  I have seen this species a couple of times, but no good photos to show for it.  This one is pretty decent when resized.